Peter Pan is 60 years old this year, so it makes complete sense that it would be released on Blu-ray this week. When the film was first released in theaters, it was an immediate hit becoming the highest grossing film of 1953, and it was also (mostly) beloved by critics. (It was based on a play and there were some changes made, not all of which pleased critics at the time.) Today, it is still seen as a classic, mostly. (There is controversy surrounding the stereotypical portrayal of the Indian, with good reason.) Can it overcome these issues and still be enjoyed? Or is it too much a product of its time?
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It's Tron week with at least seven releases related to Tron and Tron: Legacy. This appears to have scared away the competition, because outside of those releases, there's not much of a selection. Actually, there are three $100 million hits coming out this week; however, one doesn't come out till Friday, so I'll likely deal with it next week after the screener arrives, and the other is so bad it's best to pretend it doesn't exist. Those two films are clearly the Pick of the Week, but depending on where you buy your DVDs, the Combo Pack may or may nor be less expensive than buying the twofilms separately, so double-check before you buy.
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Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. There was again an excellent mix of wide releases, limited releases, older films and TV on DVD. And because of the wide section, there should be something for everyone, and for me it's Gilmore Girls - Season 1 - (Buy from Amazon), which is my DVD pick of the week.
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2004 started off with a bang as all movies in the top five beat expectations, although mostly by just a million or two. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King continues to lead and may yet have one more win up its sleeve for next week. This allowed 2004 to get an early jump improving upon last year's pace by more than 9%. There was a considerable drop from last week, but this was not surprising given the return to work / school on Monday. A drop of just 24% was the best week to week drop-off to start the year since 2000 when the box office dropped a mere 14%.
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This week there are no new wide openings, so the top five should look a lot like last weekend. This includes another winning weekend for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The lack of new releases is not uncommon for this time of the year, nor is the number of potential $100 million movies. Of the top five, one has already crossed $100 million and three more could follow.
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No one was surprised that Lord of the Ring: Return of the King remained on top for the second weekend in a row, but most of the new entries did surprise at the box office. It is also not surprising that the box office shot up from last week by over 30%, but the yearly increase was a much more modest 4%. That is less than the average increase in ticket prices.
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There's really no doubt Lord of the Rings: Return of the King will remain number one over Christmas / the weekend. The only real question is how much of last weekend's record breaking performance will it maintain and how well will the other movies fare.
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During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here is an abridged list of highlights, (including the winner for the week, Peter Pan - Official Site) plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. This week's list is abridged due to the holidays. Next week's will probably be the same, but it will return to normal in the New Year. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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This Thanksgiving is turning out to be rather disappointing. Early estimates are about on par with last year when all five wide releases failed to make a major impact at the box office. This year will be a little better, but only because of inflation.
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During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here's a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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